WASHINGTON, November 10. /TASS/. The United States continues to engage in talks with Russia regarding the exchange of convicts, including US citizens Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, US Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters.

"We have continued to press them to engage seriously and in good faith on the original proposal that we put forward, the alternatives we’ve put forward. We have continued to look for ways to secure as quickly as possible the release of Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner, and we continue to work on those efforts," he said.

Earlier, Washington offered Moscow to exchange Russian businessman Viktor Bout who is serving a prison term in the US on arms trafficking charges for Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan. The prisoner swap was among the topics discussed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in late July. The Russian side said after the talks that Lavrov had strongly recommended to his US counterpart that the sides return to "quiet diplomacy" on this issue. Later, the US media reported, citing unnamed sources, that Moscow had proposed including another Russian national serving a prison term in a Western country in the potential swap deal.

Meanwhile, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Thursday that Russia was not responding in a constructive manner to US suggestions.

"We have put forward a series of proposals over the last several months for how we could resolve her case, as well as the case of Paul Whelan, to bring them both home. So far, the Russians have not shown a willingness to engage in that back-and-forth to produce a result," Sullivan said.

"As President Biden said yesterday [on Wednesday], we are hopeful that we can renew that dialogue and find a way to get these cases resolved and to get both Brittney and Paul home," he added, without making any forecasts.

In his words, he and US President Joe Biden are directly engaged in the effort.

"We are dealing with the Russians at very senior levels, and our diplomats on the ground are working overtime to ensure that they are staying in close touch with their Russian counterparts on her [Griner’s] case," the official said.

Griner’s transfer to penal colony

According to US Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price, the United States has sent Russia a request to provide additional information regarding Griner’s transfer to a penal colony.

"As soon as we learned of her transfer, we requested formally from the Russian Government <...> more information about her transfer," he said.

Price went on to say that the US government and diplomats were "engaging to do all that we can to ensure that her conditions are as safe, as healthy as can be during this time."

Lawyer Maria Blagovolina told TASS on Wednesday that Griner, sentenced to nine years in prison in a Russian drug case, had been transferred from a pre-trial detention center to a penal colony where she is to serve her sentence. "As lawyers, we and the US embassy should be notified as soon as she reaches the point of her destination," Blagovolina insisted.

The US basketball player was arrested in Russia earlier this year on charges of attempting to smuggle drugs into the country through Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. During a court interrogation, she pleaded guilty but emphasized that she had put cannabis oil in her bag in haste and without any intention to smuggle. As a member of the United States national women’s team, Griner won gold medals at the 2014 and 2018 World Championships, as well as at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games. Before her arrest, she played for Russia’s Yekaterinburg professional basketball club.

US national Paul Whelan is convicted in Russia for spying. On December 28, 2018, Whelan, who holds US, UK, Canadian and Irish citizenship, was detained by Russia’s Federal Security Service in a room of Moscow’s Metropol Hotel while on a spy mission. The FSB opened a criminal case against him on charges of espionage under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code. The Moscow City Court found Whelan guilty of spying against Russia and sentenced him to 16 years in a high security colony.